We recently interviewed Vandana Mahajan, founder of Futures Abroad. She has over 13 years of expertise dealing with prominent educational institutions and providing them with consultancy services about international markets, creating partnerships, and much more through Futures Abroad. She is well-known as a career guidance expert passionate about offering life-changing opportunities. Besides these, she is a prolific writer, consultant, researcher, and trainer. Let’s learn more about Vandana and her journey through this interview below.
Early Life And Education
We were interested in learning about Vandana’s early life and educational background, so we asked, “Tell us something about you, your early life, and your education.”
She shared, “I have over two decades of experience in the Education sector, specializing in Strategy Development, International Liaison, Student Recruitment, & Career Counseling. The Entrepreneur of the Year Award was awarded for three consecutive years, 1999-2002, for strategy development, delivery of projects, and excellent customer service.
Over the past years, I have worked initially as an entrepreneur in India and for several years at ‘The University of Toronto’ as the ‘Director of International Liaison,’ which gave me a unique perspective. I initiated partnership agreements between the University of Toronto and Public schools, creating first-of-its-kind special programs for international students coming to Canada with Peel District School Board. I also initiated and made articulation agreements for the University of Toronto with Community Colleges across Canada.”
She continued, “I was part of the former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s delegation to India in Nov. 2012, promoting opportunities in the Education sector in Canada. I have been working closely with FICCI for the past 5 years. I was the Keynote speaker at the 8th FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) Higher Education Summit in November 2012, speaking on ‘Sustaining successful partnerships with foreign Universities. The Summit brought together stakeholders, including critical policymakers, educationists, and industry at national and international levels, for deliberations and knowledge sharing.
I embarked on a new adventure in 2015 and started Futures Abroad, a boutique Career and University Counseling business. The company has offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. I have helped over 20000 students attend their dream universities with Scholarships. I am the founder of ‘The Next New,’ a student club started in 2000 to help students build awareness and understanding of upcoming careers and help them gain experience as interns, pursue research, and understand the job they plan to follow.
I completed a certification from Yale University in Psychology and Cognitive Science in 2000 to understand student psychology, how the teenage brain works, and understanding attention theories. My main aim is to help students understand their aptitude and choose the right university on the one hand and the other, work with universities in promoting the programs, and help them find the right fit. Having worked with an internationally renowned university, it is my passion and responsibility to share my knowledge, information, and experience with others. I am a certified member of ICEF, Canadian Business Council, and Dubai Business Women’s Council.”
Presence In The Industry
To get an idea about how deep her brand’s presence in this industry is, we asked, “Tell us about the business and its presence in the GCC.”
Vandana shared, “Futures Abroad is a unique career advisory firm working closely with high schoolers, University students, and professionals helping them identify their niche and understand their strengths; the business was set up in the UAE in 2015 and has a strong presence in the GCC. I have successfully counseled over 10000 students from the GCC in the past few years.
The business ethos is based on creating awareness about the changing careers and industry on the one hand and helping the youth and young professionals understand their strengths and target appropriate programs moving forward to build on those strengths; the Next New is a student-led club and focuses on working with students explore new careers and gain unique skills by following amazing internship and shadowing programs, research programs and workshops.”
Visions For The Company
Every business moves forward with some goals to achieve. We were intrigued to learn about the visions Vandana holds for her company. We asked, “What are some of the growth and expansion plans you have in your pipeline?”
She replied, “My focus in the next two years is to travel to GCC countries where I feel students lack awareness and understanding of the upcoming careers and about university applications and preparation for scholarships. I have recently been working with students in Saudi Arabia and Qatar and have many unique workshops in place in the coming few months.”
Current Year For The Business
Being a business amidst tough competition, facing ups and downs is inevitable. We wanted to learn about the company’s journey in the current year. So we asked, “How has the year been for your company?”
She shared, “The year has been amazing, and the openness in students and families to learn and explore has helped me share my experience of working in Admissions and Recruitment at a leading world-class Canadian university. This has given me the breadth of working with students in Skills Training, Career Mapping, and Assessing their learning style and aptitude, steering them in the right direction, equipping them for success, and guiding them to the right career path.
We trained 2000 students in the past year for skills, communication enhancement, and career mapping by designing unique workshops and using a combination of online tools, personalized counseling sessions, and training. We must educate the families on the importance of skills-based education.”
Available Services
To glimpse the company’s current services and offerings, we asked, “What does your business offer in the current competitive market?”
She shared, “My business offers uniqueness in student admissions and counseling due to my first-hand experience working with a leading world-class university as a Senior Administrator in Admissions and Liaison. I use my experience to prepare students and help them gain admission to the best-fit university with scholarships in most cases. This preparation involves personalized counseling sessions, skills mapping, aptitude assessment, and assistance in preparing strong applications and targeting the right scholarships.”
Changes In The Industry
Every industry is undergoing significant changes and shifting its aspects. So we asked, “What is changing in the Education Landscape?”
She shared, “There is an urgent need to shift the learning models from learning to skills-based education. We must embrace this change as the era evolves by fostering the skill gap by addressing a problem and applying the solution holistically. Restructuring the educational system is important, and the change is happening as professionals. We should all be part of that change.”
Innovative Steps For The Brand
“Tell us about the company’s focus and investment in research and innovation.”
Vandana shared, “The company’s focus is on creating unique workshops and providing solutions for students and professionals to understand their potential and identify the right career path. I invest in professional development by attending conferences and training with universities and leaders in the industry to keep my knowledge up to date in this evolving sector.
Skilling is a critical aspect today, and the education space is evolving by including practical training as part of degree programs. I am actively working in this space to create unique programs for students by engaging in the university and work integrated learning.”
Connect with Vandana Mahajan on LinkedIn.
Find Futures Abroad on LinkedIn or visit https://www.futuresabroad.com.
